1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the configuring of baking dough and, more particularly, to bakery dough configuration devices that form or shape bakery dough without manual assistance to provide, after baking, a bread roll having a predetermined configuration corresponding to the configured bakery dough.
2. Background of the Prior Art
Bread rolls and other bakery products are the result of baked dough that has been configured into a predetermined position or form by a person shaping the dough with their hands. One particular bread roll provided in restaurants is depicted in FIG. 1 of the drawings. The corresponding dough form or shape that, upon being baked results in the bread roll of FIG. 1, is depicted in FIG. 2 of the drawings and is termed an "overhand knot" configuration. The overhand knot configuration can only be accomplished by a person shaping and knotting the dough with their hands.
A disadvantage to this method of providing bread rolls is that it requires excessive amounts of time and manpower to configure the large quantity of dough to make the rolls ultimately consumed in restaurants. Alternative prior art methods of providing the bread rolls, have a person shaping the general form of each piece of dough, then cutting the dough with hand tools (such as knives) into a predetermined configuration that, upon being baked, results in the bread rolls depicted in FIG. 1. This alternative method also requires excessive time and manpower to configure each piece of dough. A need exists for a device that quickly and with minimal manual labor configures a preselected quantity of baking dough that, upon being baked, provides a bread roll having a predetermined configuration. Further, a need exists for connecting a plurality of the dough configuring devices to a machine capable of mass producing the configured pieces of baking dough.